Closure device for the bottom outlet opening of a casting ladle

ABSTRACT

A closure device for the bottom outlet opening in casting ladles is disclosed, the outlet opening having a supporting member adjacent thereto solidly connected to the casting ladle. The closure device comprises a slide plate disposed below the outlet opening and rotatable about a vertical axis. Importantly, the slide plate is hingedly mounted in such a manner that it can adjust in more than one degree of freedom to the position of the supporting member about the outlet opening. As a result thereof, the closure device can easily adjust to thermal expansions of portions of the casting ladle to maintain a reliable seal.

0 United States Patent 3,565,299

[72] Inventor Hans Dial 1 References Cited [21] A l N 35% SwitzerlandUNITED STATES PATENTS PP- 311,902 2/1885 Lewis 164/337 [22] Filed June16, 1969 Patented Feb. 1971 3,436,023 4/1969 Thalmann 266/38 [73] A iMgtamn AG Primary ExaminerRobert B. Reeves z ui s w AssistantExaminer-J. 1. Shannon 32 priority June 13, 19 AttorneyWerner W. Kleeman[33] Switzerland [31] 9031/68 ABSTRACT: A closure device for the bottomoutlet opening in castin ladles is disclosed, the outlet 0 enin havin asu [54] CLOSURE DEVICE FOR THE BOTTOM OUTLET porting r nember adjacentthereto solidl corfnected to tlie OPENING OFA T LADLE casting ladle. Theclosure device comprises a slide plate 9 Claims 6 Drawing disposed belowthe outlet opening and rotatable about a verti- [52] us. Cl 222/504, calaxisp n y, h slide pl i hingedly mounted in 222/560 such a manner thatit can adjust in more than one degree of [51] Int. Cl B67d 5/06 freedomto the position of the supporting member about the [50] Field of Search222/560, outlet opening. AS a result thereof, the closure device can559, 556, 557, 531, 532, (lnquired)504, 512, (lnquired); 164/335, 337;239/601; 266/38 easily adjust to thermal expansions of portions of thecasting ladle to. maintain a reliable seal.

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CLOSURE DEVICE FOR THE BOTTOM OUTLET OPENING OF A CASTING LADLEBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The instant invention generally relatesclosure devices and particularly concerns a closure device for thebottom outlet opening in casting ladles, such closure device being ofthe type comprising a slider member for opening and closing such outletopening.

A problem presently exists in the art concerning the slider member typeof the closure device in that presently known slider members cannotalways reliably seal off the outlet opening of the casting ladle.Furthermore, the previously utilized devices of this type had thedrawback that they either would wear out rapidly as result of theinsufficiently high temperatures and forces or that they could onlyinsufficiently adjust to the thermal expansion of portions of thecasting ladle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the primary object of the instantinvention to provide a slider member for opening and closing the outletopening of a casting ladle which eliminates the above-mentioneddrawbacks of the prior art.

This object as well as other objects which will become more apparent asthe description proceeds are implemented by the subject invention inthat a slide plate is disposed below the outlet opening of a castingladle and is rotatable about standing or vertical axis. Additionally,the slide plate is hingedly mounted in such a manner that it can adjustin more than one degree of freedom to the position of the supportingmember firmly connected to the casting ladle about the outlet opening.As a result thereof, reliable sealing of the outlet opening can beobtained and the closure device is far less subject to repairs andconsequent interruptions in the work process by virtue of its simplicityand strong constructions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention itself as well as otheradvantageous features thereof will be more clearly understood from thefollowing detailed description of preferred inventive embodiments, suchdescription referring to the appended sheet of drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts a sectional view taken along line I-l of FIG. 2 throughthe bottom outlet opening of a casting ladle together with the closuredevice of the instant invention;

FIG. 2 depicts a sectional view taken along line 11-" of FIG.

FIG. 3 depicts a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 depicts a cross-sectional view analogous to FIG. 3 taken throughanother embodiment of the instant invention;

FIG. 5 depicts a cross-sectional view taken through further embodimentof the instant invention utilizing a manual operation for the closuredevice; and

FIG. 6 depicts a cross-sectional view analogous to FIG. 2 taken'througha further inventive variation.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED INVENTIVE EMBODIMENTS Referring now to thedrawings, and particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, a round opening fordischarging molten metal is disposed in the bottom I of a casting ladle2 which serves to take up the liquid molten metal. A cylindrical insertmember 3 is placed into this bottom opening, insert member 3 having afunnel-shaped portion 4 towards the top thereof and a cylindrical outletor discharge opening 5 towards the bottom. The casting ladle 2 isprovided with a jacketing sleeve 6 at the underside of its bottomportion and at its outside side wall surface. A holding ring 7 and adisc 8 disposed in the center of the holding ring are structured asparts firmly connected to the casting ladle, disc 8 having a centralopening aligned with the cylindrical outlet opening 5.

A sliding plate 10 is pressed against the disc 8, sliding plate 10having an opening 11 which can be brought selectively into a closureposition or into a position which will allow it to become aligned withthe opposite discharge opening 5. A frame 12 is firmly connected to theexterior of sliding plate 10 and the interior of frame 12 is coveredwith a refractory material 13 having a passage opening 14. Frame I2 ispivotally mounted at 13 in bushings of a lever 40 such that frame I2 isrotatable about a horizontal axis 15.

Lever 40 itself preferably is welded together from several part andbasically comprises a two-arm lever rotatably mounted about a verticalaxis 16. The lever end furthest away from frame 12 is provided with aroller 17 which can rotate about a horizontal pivot point 30 on a rollertrack 18 and is able to roll on such roller track. Lever 40 is supportedby a bracket 20 having side portions 21 welded to jacket 6 or otherwisefirmly secured to the casting ladle. A ball pin 22 is threaded into thecenter of bracket 20, ball pin 22 pressing against a ball socket 23 ofthe lever 40. This ball socket 23 is disposed in a bushing or sleeve 24of lever 40. A fiat arm 25 is welded to the bushing or sleeve 24 as wellas, on the other side of the sleeve, two braces orsupports 26 whichtogether form the lever 40. Lever 40 is bendable or flexibletransversely to its plane of displacement and can be more or less bentthrough by means of screwing in the ball pin and thus can bepretensioned such that the sliding plate 10 can be pushed against disc 8with sufiiciently great force to effectuate reliable sealing of thedischarge opening of the casting ladle. As a result of the elasticbending of lever 40, thermal expansions or distortions of the bottom ofthe casting ladle or other portions thereof can be accommodated withoutdifficulty since rotatable frame 12 can adjust to each new respectiveposition of the disc 8. In this regard, adjustment may also be obtainedwith respect to changes in position occurring transverselyto axis 15 inthat lever 40 can also yield about a horizontal axis due to the pivotalmounting of ball pin 22 in the ball socket 23. As a result thereof,sliding plate 10 can follow'virtually all changes and positions of disc3 due to thermal distortion or other reasons without the necessity ofexerting an inordinately great pressure force on disc 8. Consequently,reduction of the force for displacing the sliding plate 10 is possibleas compared with devices formerly used. The rotation of the lever 40between the closure position and the opening position takes placepursuant to FIG. 2 preferably by hydraulic operated pressure means 28having a plunger 29 hingedly connected with picot 30 of lever 40.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a further embodiment of the instant inventionis depicted. Bracket 20 in this embodiment is resiliently mounted as aresult of which one can forego vertical adjustability of the ball pin.Pressure springs 31 are mounted between bracket 20 and the free ends ofbolts 30'. These springs 31 can be pretensioned by means of nuts 32.Apart from this difference, the manner of operation of the device ofFIG. 4 is analogous to that described with respect to the device of FIG.1.

Instead of hydraulic displacement of lever 40 between its opening andclosure position, manual displacement pursuant to FIG. 5 can also beutilized. Here, a threaded spindle 35 or toothed bar or rack ispivotally joined to the pivot portion 30 of lever 40 via a bar 34, thethreaded spindle 35 being supported in a housing 36 and beingdisplaceable with the aid of a handwheel 37.

In the variation of the inventive embodiment as depicted in FIG. 6, aone-armed flexible lever 41 is present instead of lever 40 describedabove. Lever 41 is supported at one end by ball pin 42 and at the otherend carries a roller 38. Frame I2 is rotatably mounted by means of bothpivot structures 39 and is itself constructed identically to the frameas described with respect to the embodiment of FIG. 2. Thus, it ispossible in a manner similar to that described above to obtain completeadjustment of the sliding plate to counteract any deformations of thecasting ladle or expansions with the device of FIG. 6.

As should now be apparent, the objects initially set forth at the outsetof this specification, have now been successfully achieved.

I claim:

1. A closure device for the bottom outlet opening of casting ladleswherein a support member is firmly connected to the casting ladle aboutthe outlet opening, said closure device comprising slide plate meansdisposed below said outlet opening of said casting ladle and rotatableabout a vertical axis, means for hingedly mounting said slide platemeans such that said slide plate means can adjust in more than onedegree of freedom to the position of said support member.

2. A closure device as defined in claim 1, further including a two-armedlever means for operating said slide plate means, said lever means beingattached to said slide plate means such that said slide plate means isrotatably mounted about a horizontal axis, said lever means beingflexible transversely to its plane of displacement.

3. A closure device as defined in claim 2, further including a bracketattached to the casting ladle, and ball pin and ball socket means formounting said lever means to said bracket.

4. A closure device as defined in claim 2, wherein the end of said levermeans which is away from said sliding plate means includes a roll, androller track means attached to said casting ladle upon which said rollcan travel.

5. A closure device as defined'in claim 4, wherein said end of saidlever means is coupled with a hydraulic pressure means for effectingdisplacement thereof.

6. A closure device as defined in claim 4, wherein said end of saidlever means is coupled with a manual displacement means for effectingdisplacement thereof.

7. A closure device as defined in claim 1, further including a one-armedlever means, said sliding plate means being disposed in the central areaof said one-armed lever means and being rotatable about a horizontalpivot, said one-armed lever means being resiliently supported to saidcasting ladle.

8. A closure device as defined in claim 3, wherein said ball pinincludes thread means and is vertically adjustable in said bracket.

9. A closure device as defined in claim 3, wherein said bracket isresiliently supported by said casting ladle.

1. A closure device for the bottom outlet opening of casting ladleswherein a support member is firmly connected to the casting ladle aboutthe outlet opening, said closure device comprising slide plate meansdisposed below said outlet opening of said casting ladle and rotatableabout a vertical axis, means for hingedly mounting said slide platemeans such that said slide plate means can adjust in more than onedegree of freedom to the position of said support member.
 2. A closuredevice as defined in claim 1, further including a two-armed lever meansfor operating said slide plate means, said lever means being attached tosaid slide plate means such that said slide plate means is rotatablymounted about a horizontal axis, said lever means being flexibletransversely to its plane of displacement.
 3. A closure device asdefined in claim 2, further including a bracket attached to the castingladle, and ball pin and ball socket means for mounting said lever meansto said bracket.
 4. A closure device as defined in claim 2, wherein theend of said lever means which is away from said sliding plate meansincludes a roll, and roller track means attached to said casting ladleupon which said roll can travel.
 5. A closure device as defined in claim4, wherein said end of said lever means is coupled with a hydraulicpressure means for effecting displacement thereof.
 6. A closure deviceas defined in claim 4, wherein said end of said lever means is coupledwith a manual displacement means for effecting displacement thereof. 7.A closure device as defined in claim 1, further including a one-armedlever means, said sliding plate means being disposed in the central areaof said one-armed lever means and being rotatable about a horizontalpivot, said one-armed lever means being resiliently supported to saidcasting ladle.
 8. A closure device as defined in claim 3, wherein saidball pin includes thread means and is vertically adjustable in saidbracket.
 9. A closure device as defined in claim 3, wherein said bracketis resiliently supported by said casting ladle.